Casper's POV
FLASHBACK
I stare at Jess wide eyed as he asked again, "you have a crush on Rex?"
Darla and I loooked at each other, trying to piece out what to say. "Uh, what? Crush? On Rex? No he doesn't." Darla said but I'm sure Jess wasn't convinced.
He folded his arms, a deep frown on his face as he ignored what Darla said, asking me again. "Do you have a crush on Rex?"
"I don't know who you think you are, if he doesn't want to tell-" Darla said but I caught her off.
"Yes, I do."
Jess scoffed, "you told me you weren't gay."
"I'm not....just bisexual."
He rolled his eyes. "Same difference."
"Okay, what's going on here?" Darla asked confused.
That's right. I hadn't told her Jess confessed to me but I rejected him. The excuse? I'm not gay.
"So what? He's hotter? Who'ssogreatabouthim?"
Isighed. "Seriously? Cut this shit out."
"Cut this shit out? What makes you think you can say that to me? You think he's ever going to look your way?"
"Okay, I don't know what's going on but you can't talk to him that way." Darla said.
"I'm not talking to you."
"What?" Darla said getting up.
I came in between them. "I don't know why you're making a big deal out of this." I said to Jess. "You're overreacting, he doesn't even know I have a crush on him."
His lips twisted into a sneer, "I'm overreacting? Okay, I'll show you how I really overreact." He said and walked away.
"Okay what's going on? What's with the whole bullshit he was saying?"
"He confessed to me." I said making her eyes grow wide. "He asked me out but I declined. I told him I wasn't gay."
"Wow, I didn't know Jess likes you. But that doesn'tgive him the reason to behave that way."
I sighed. "I don't even know why he did that."
"Just because you didn't accept him doesn't mean you can't like someone else. That's toxic if you ask me."
"Let's just forget about it. Maybe he's just hurt."
"Hurt in his brain, you mean. He should get that head if his checked."
Darla and I thought Jess would get over it. He didn't.
(AUTHOR'S NOTE: The exercise scene where Jess met Rex (chapter 8) in A CHANCE AT LOVE comes next after this. I don't want to re-write it so....yeah.)
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It's been a week since Matt mentioned Rex's crush on him, and I've been making a concerted effort to steer clear of Rex.
Darla, Aria, and I were currently hanging out at a café. It was Friday, and with classes just wrapped up and no plans ahead, we decided to chill here.
"A lesbian couple came out in class today. Ugh! It was sooo romantic," Aria exclaimed.
"Honestly, you find romance in everything. You even consider two animals playing together to be romantic," Darla retorted.
"No, seriously! It was intense. I think everyone in class realized they had feelings for each other except for me. I was the only one caught off guard," Aria insisted.
I shot a glance at Darla before turning to Aria. "You can be a bit oblivious sometimes."
Darla raised an eyebrow at me, as if to say, "Really?" I just grinned back.
"I'm not that oblivious," Aria argued, throwing a look at Darla. "At least I'm not as oblivious as Darla."
Darla stared at her, taken aback. "How am I oblivious?"
"You just are," Aria replied matter-of-factly.
Darla leaned in closer, genuinely curious. "How exactly?"
"I'm not sure..." Aria mumbled, taking an awkward sip of her drink. I watched them, and it was clear they'd make an adorable couple. if only Darla could muster the courage to confess her feelings, I'm sure she'd have a chance.
Unlike me. I had zero chance with Rex. Ugh, why did it turn depressing so quickly?
"Are you both going to the party tomorrow?" I asked to shift the mood.
"I think I'll skip it; I have some assignments to tackle," Aria answered.
"Sure, I'll go. I think it's time for me to unwind a bit; who knows, maybe luck will be on my side tomorrow." Darla remarked. She often makes comments like this right before a party, yet nothing ever comes of it. When someone shows interest in her, she always backs away.
"I-I'll go too, just tell me what time to meet you," Aria told Darla.
Was it just me or...?
"Hey, Casper!" I heard Mick call out from behind. I turned to see him and Rex approaching.
"Hey, is everything alright?" I asked, noticing Rex take a seat in the empty chair between Aria and I.
"Oh, nothing much. Just trying to get a hold of Samson, but he's not answering," Mick said, standing behind Rex, who was holding a drink.
"Samson didn't make it to school today; he's been at home. He might just be busy. I'm sure he'll return your call," I suggested, glancing at Rex, who was engaged in conversation with Aria. I frowned slightly.
"Uh, if it's not too much trouble, could you take me to his apartment? I don't know his room number."
Mick wants to visit Samson's place because he didn't answer his calls? Wow, he really takes his tutorials seriously.
He must have noticed my puzzled expression because he added, "It's just odd for him not to pick up my calls." Okay, that literally made me more confused.
Since when did they become so close?
"Alright, but I didn't bring my car."
"No worries, Rex drove here. He can take us," Mick assured me, glancing at Rex, who was still chatting with Aria.
"Nice talking to you, Aria," he said as he stood up.
"I'll catch up with you both tomorrow, alright?" I said to Darla and Aria. Only Aria responded with a nod, while Darla wore an ugly frown.
I trailed behind Rex and Mick as we made our way to the car, with Mick settling into the backseat. I assumed he would claim the front. Just as I opened the passenger door, Rex called out, "Come sit up front."
"Nope," I replied as I climbed in. A couple of minutes into the ride, I noticed Rex stealing glances at me through the rearview mirror.
"Why do you keep looking back? You're going to get us in an accident," I said.
"I was checking on both of you, not just you," he shot back, a playful sparkle in his voice.
"Fucking liar," I muttered, rolling my eyes.
Once we arrived at the apartment, I guided them to Samson's room downstairs. I knocked but was met with silence. After a second attempt, Samson finally opened the door, looking weary and half-awake.
"Hey, man, you alright?" I asked, concern creeping into my voice.
He glanced at me before his gaze shifted to Mick. "What are you doing here?" he asked softly.
"Well, you didn't answer my calls," Mick said as he stepped past me to get closer to him. He placed a hand on Samson's neck. "Are you feeling sick?"
"Not really, just a bit off," Samson replied.
"That's what being sick means, Samson. Have you taken any medicine or eaten anything?"
Samson shook his head. "I'll whip something up for you," Mick said.
What the hell?! When did they become so friendly? It's only been a week since that café incident—what changed?
Mick turned to us. "You guys can head out; I'll hang back with him for a while."
I nodded, still perplexed. I need to ask Samson about this later. With that, they both went inside, leaving Rex and I outside.
I turned to Rex, rolling my eyes as I walked past him. He laughed, "What was that for?"
"Do I need a reason to roll my eyes at you?" I replied, continuing on my way. He picked up his pace to walk alongside me.
"And stay away from Aria; she's off-limits," I warned.
"Yeah, Darla nearly shot me daggers with her stare. But... are you concerned about Darla, or are you just feeling jealous?" he said as we made our way up the stairs.
I halted and turned to him. "I'm not jealous, and screw you."
"Oh, you wish. You mentioned you saw Jess and I that day, right?"
I frowned. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"Did you dream about me doing that to you?"
We reached my door, and I turned to confront him. "What?"
"I bet you have wet dreams about me." he smirks, taking a sip of his drink making that 'ahh' sound annoying people do after taking a gulp of their drink.
"Shut up Rex, you're not sexy or attractive enough for me to have wet dreams. So shut up and take your stupid drink inside with you." I said, going inside my room and slamming the door shut.
I lied, Rex was attractive and sexy enough for me.